“I’m very proud of the effort and toughness the guys showed today,” head coach Tad Berkowitz said. “I’ll look for them to finish strong tomorrow.”

Ask fell in the first set to Hunter Nicholas of San Diego State 2-6, but withstood a tough second set to win 7-5. The momentum carried through to the match clinching set, which he persevered through to win 10-6.

Takeda’s match against UC Santa Barbara’s Corey Karen followed in similar fashion. Takeda also dropped his first set 2-6, but stormed back to mount a shutout in the second, 6-0. Karen put forth a strong effort in the third, but Takeda kept trucking to win the deciding set, 11-9.

Ask kept his momentum to win his round of 16 match against Ciaren Fitzgerald of San Diego, 6-1, 6-4 to garner a spot in the semis.

Takeda also earned a spot in the semifinals, as his opponent No. 48 Francis Alcantara of Pepperdine withdrew from the match.

The Wildcats are guaranteed a spot in Monday’s consolation finals, as Takeda and Ask will face each other to advance.

Arizona’s only loss on the day came in doubles as Ask and senior Kieren Thompson fell to conclude their run. They fought hard against Pepperdine’s No. 48 duo of Alcantara and Alex Sarkissian, but came up short 8-5.

For continued coverage of Arizona men’s tennis, visit ArizonaWildcats.com, follow @ArizonaMTennis on Twitter and Facebook at facebook.com/ArizonaMensTennis.